Synthetic silicate pellet compositions

ABSTRACT

A synthetic silicate pellet is provided having component of calcium and magnesium, either together or in the alternative. Such pellet is further provided with either an aluminate silicate binder and/or an ion flow catalyst. The synthetic silicate pellet has use as a glass batch component.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates generally to glass-making, and, moreparticularly, to a method of making a synthetic calcium/magnesiumsilicate pellet having varied properties, such synthetic silicatepellets themselves, and to the using of such synthetic silicate pelletsin glass-making systems.

BACKGROUND

In general, glass-making involves the combination of precursivematerials for melting and reacting together to form a desired glasscomposition. The volume and use of glass is such that natural resourcesare traditionally favored with a cost-optimal amount of beneficiation ofsuch materials for glass-production purposes.

Some of the historical glass-making schemes involved the combining ofsand (as a silica source), lime (as a calcium source) and soda ash (as asodium source) along with other materials and processing to form theubiquitous glass products. Such processes traditionally suffered from,and continue to suffer from, production limitations. Among the morecritical limitations are batch-free time (the time required tocompletely dissolve the combined materials) and the fining time (thetime to remove gases from the melt which form undesired bubbles in themelt and resulting glass). Other limitations involve the handlingproblems associated with the precursive materials, such as crumbling,dusting, clumping, sintering deficiencies and the like.

Progress has been made in the glass-making processes by the use ofspecially processed or beneficiated materials intended for use as glassprecursive materials. In particular, a class of synthetic silicates havebeen developed encompassing various forms of synthetic calciumsilicates, magnesium silicates and/or calcium magnesium silicates.Exemplary of such materials are SYNSIL™ synthetic silicates. While suchsynthetic silicates can provide beneficial results, there continues tobe a need for enhanced precursive materials for the glass-makingtechnologies.

SUMMARY

An object of the present invention is to provide a synthetic silicate asa precursive glass-making material in a composition and form whichreduces handling problems in the glass-making process.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a syntheticsilicate as a precursive glass-making material in a composition and formwhich enhances the melting process in the glass-making process.

These and other objectives are achieved by providing a syntheticsilicate composition comprised of a calcium/magnesium silicate materialof controlled formulation, an alumina silicate binder, a catalyst andsilica fines. The binder and catalyst are alternatively present,providing respectively preferred advantages of enhanced compressionstrengths and enhanced sintering characteristics and yields of suchsynthetic silicates.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF INVENTION

An embodiment of the present invention is a novel composition comprising(i) a silicate material having an empirical formula ofCa_(x)Mg_(y)Si_(z)O_((x+y+2z)), wherein the values of x, y, and z aresuch that at least one of x and y are not zero and the values are suchthat the novel composition is suitable as a glass precursor material;(ii) an alumina silicate binder in an amount effective to impart acompression strength sufficient to enable a pellet formed from the novelcomposition to be handled at ambient temperature and sintered withoutsubstantial structured damage to said pellet; and (iii) silica fines inan amount such that the composition is suitable as a glass precursormaterial. This composition has use as precursive material in theglass-making process. Other additives or elements of composition may beadded with regard to the particular specific glass being produced. Themanufacturer of such glass will make the adjustments to the variables ofthe elements of the composition so as to be suitable for his intendedend glass product. pounds of water. This solution is added to theblender at a rate of 1.1 pounds per minute until hydration is complete.After the completion of water addition continue to mix for two (2)minutes. This material is then formed into one half inch in diameterpellets and air-dried for twenty-four (24) hours.

Six Percent Calcium Aluminate and Fume Silica Binder

Forty-seven (47) pounds of pebble lime, forty-seven pounds of sand, andsix (6) pounds of fume silica are placed in a ribbon blender. Two (2)pounds of sodium hydroxide is dissolved in twenty-three (23) pounds ofwater. This solution is added to the lime, sand, and silica mixture at1.1 pounds per minute until hydration is complete. After completion ofwater addition, six (6) pounds of Secar 71 cement is added to theblender and blending is continued for two (2) minutes. This material isthe formed into one half inch in diameter pellets and air-dried fortwenty-four (24) hours.

Twenty-one representative pellets are selected from each of theformulations above. Individual pellets are placed on the tester andevaluated as outlined above. An average of the results is given in TABLE1.

TABLE 1 Compression Strength Test (pounds) Ambient Temperature Temp.500° C. 600° C. 700° C. 800° C. 900° C. 1000° C. 1100° C. Control 34.356.4 34 17.1 12 3 1 N/A 6% Secar 71 61.7 71.6 31.8 18.0 20.0 17.6 25.418.8

EXAMPLE 2

An attrition test, as described above, is done on the pellets producedthrough the processes described in Example 1. An attrition test is doneas described above, to determine the amount of fines produced by thedynamic motion of a rotary kiln. In this test the mixture with no binderis compared with the mixture in which six (6) percent of Secar 71 cementis added.

One embodiment of the present composition invention is a silicatematerial having an empirical formula of Ca_(x)Mg_(y)Si_(z)O_((x+y+2z)).The values chosen for such empirical formula are such that thecomposition is suitable as glass precursor material as discussed above.Either x or y may be zero, but both x and y are not zero. Accordingly,the silicate material may be of a nature as to be a wollastonite-type(Ca_(X)Si₁O₃) material or a diopside-type (Ca_(X)Mg_(Y)Si₂O₆) materialor an enstatite-type (Mg_(Y)Si₁O₃) material and the like. What is meantby “type” material is exemplified as follows: a wollastonite-typematerial may in fact be natural or synthetic wollastonite (Ca₁Si₁O₃) ora compound whose elemental proportions approximates such formula.Similarly, a diopside-type material may be a natural or syntheticdiopside (Ca₁Mg₁Si₂O₆) or a compound with similar elemental proportions.For instance, the proportions of calcium to magnesium need notnecessarily be one to one. In a preferred embodiment of the presentinvention a preferred ratio of calcium to magnesium is about one-half toabout ten, more preferably about one to about two. A particularly morepreferred range is a proportion of calcium to magnesium between thevalues of about 1.4 to about 1.7. Similarly, an enstatite-type materialmay be a synthetic or natural enstatite (Mg₁Si₁O₃) or a compound withsimilar elemental proportions. For instance, an enstatite-type materialmay not strictly have a one to one proportion between the magnesium andsilica in the compound. Accordingly the present invention involvescompounds with a general empirical formula ofCa_(x)Mg_(y)Si_(z)O_((x+y+2z)), whose relative proportions may duplicatethe natural wollastonite, diopside, or enstatite material or beapproximations. In all instances for the present invention, however, atleast a significant amount of calcium or magnesium should be present inthe silicate material. Other non-listed elements may be present innon-effective amounts in the compounds as trace or contaminant materialsas long as such does not significantly alter the benefits of the presentinventive compositions in the intended glass formation products.Throughout the specification it will also be appreciated by those in theart that the empirical values for the oxygen content may not strictly bex+y+2z, but will be sufficiently approximate to such so that thecomposition is able to perform as though mathematically balanced andchemically equivalent.

The alumina silicate binder can be any alumina silicate binder whose usepermits the forming of a pellet with sufficient compression strength soas to be handled at ambient temperatures in the manufacturing processand then sintered in a kiln, furnace or other heating apparatus.Throughout this specification the “pellet” form can be of any structureor shape such as an amorphous glob, a sphere, a bead, a brickette, acube, a wafer, a flake or a cylinder shape and the like. For instance,when sintered in a rotary kiln, the preferred formation is a cylindricalor spherical pellet whose size and aspect ratio is suitable for theintended glass manufacturing process using such pellet. A sufficientamount of the alumina silicate binder is used to substantially reducethe breakage of the pellet and the formation of powder or fines in theheating apparatus, such as those which might appear in a rotary kilncausing dust loss wall build up and kiln rings. Such formations affectthe thermal profile in a heating apparatus, such as a kiln, and resultssubsequently in insufficient control of burning or sintering of thematerial. Accordingly, there should be a sufficient amount of binder soas to substantially reduce or prevent insufficient sintering of thepellet for the ultimate intended use. Prior to use in the glass-makingprocess the pellet may be beneficiated or sized for achieving ease orenhancement in use. Accordingly, the pellet may be further treated tosize the pellet down into smaller pellets. Such treatment may be bycrushing, Milling or other similar processing known in the art for sizereduction, such as that used for glass sand or other solid materials.Preferred pellet sizes for some applications can be as low as 30 to 200mesh.

The alumina silicate binder comprises a form of aluminum oxide useableas a binder component. The alumina component is preferably purified orpure aluminum oxide but can comprise natural forms, such as corundumderivatives, and the like. Accordingly, the alumina silicate binder canbe of or derived from any of the numerous types of clay containingvarious proportions of aluminum oxides and silicates and like material,such as (but not limited to) sodium aluminosilicates, sodium aluminate,zeolites and the like. The alumina silicate binder is preferably in anamount of about 0.1 to about 10 weight percent or higher. The advantageof the use of such binder is the flexibility of using a wider range ofsilica material (eg. sand sizes) so as to maximize pellet packingintensity with resulting enhancement of the compression strength. Suchenhancement of the compressive strength is not reliant on such selectionof sands in the present invention but is further enhanced thereby.

The silica fines in the present invention are those which are suitablefor the intended glass use for product, such as natural sands orrecycled fines from a glass-making process or other recovery. The amountof such silica fines may range up to about 60 weight percent of thecomposition or even higher in specific applications. In a preferredembodiment the silica fines are sands having a measurement of up toabout 30 mesh size.

Another embodiment of the present invention is a composition comprising(i) a silicate material having an empirical formula ofCa_(x)Mg_(y)Si_(z)O_((x+y+2z)), wherein the values of x, y, and z aresuch that at least one of x and y are not zero and the values are suchthat the composition is suitable as a glass precursor material; (ii) acatalyst comprising a compound selected from the group consisting oflithium, potassium and sodium, the catalyst being in an amountsufficient to effectively control the ion flow in a pellet formed fromthe composition so that the ion flow effectively forms the desiredwollastonite-type, diopside-type or enstatite-type formation duringsintering of the pellet; and (iii) silica fines in an amount such thatthe composition is suitable as a glass precursor material.

The catalyst useable in the present invention is a catalyst whichcomprises any Group I compound, preferably lithium, potassium or sodiumor a combination thereof. A preferred catalyst is selected from a groupconsisting of lithium carbonate, lithium hydroxide, sodium carbonate andsodium hydroxide or combination thereof. The catalyst should be in aneffective amount so as to react in a manner to cause a controlled melt,preferably one that allows an exchange of ions within the melt from anarea of high density to an area of low density. The preferred amount ofcatalyst is in a range of about 0.01 to about 20 weight percent, morepreferably from about 0.05 to about 5 weight percent catalyst in thecomposition. A preferred catalyst is sodium hydroxide in a liquid form.

Another preferred embodiment of the present invention is a compositioncomprising (i) a silicate material having an empirical formula ofCa_(x)Mg_(y)Si_(z)O_((x+y+2z)), wherein the values of x, y, and z aresuch that at least one of x and y are not zero and the values are suchthat the composition is suitable as a glass precursor material; (ii) analumina silicate binder in an amount effective to impart a compressionstrength sufficient to enable a pellet formed from the composition to behandled at ambient temperature and sintered without substantialstructured damage to the pellet; (iii) a catalyst comprising a compoundselected from the group consisting of lithium, potassium and sodium,said catalyst being in an amount sufficient to effectively control theion flow in a pellet formed from the composition so that the ion floweffectively forms wollastonite-type, diopside-type, or enstatite-typeformation during sintering of the pellet; (iv) and silica fines in anamount such that the composition is suitable as a glass precursormaterial. As can be appreciated from the disclosures hereinabove, thispreferred embodiment provides the advantages of both the use of analumina silicate binder and a catalyst material in the composition.

In another aspect, an embodiment of the present invention is a processfor producing a sinterable mass comprising a silicate material having anempirical formula of Ca_(x)Mg_(y)Si_(z)O_((X+y+2Z)), wherein the valuesof x, y, and z are such that at least one of x and y are not zero andthe values are such that the composition is suitable as a glassprecursor material, an alumina silicate binder, an ion flow catalyst andsilica, the process comprises setting the relative values of x, y, and zso that the material is suitable as a glass precursor material, andsetting the binder proportion in the sinterable mass to enable formationfrom the mass of a form sinterable without substantial structural damageto the form.

In yet another embodiment, the present invention is a process forproducing a sinterable mass comprising a silicate material having anempirical formula of Ca_(x)Mg_(y)Si_(z)O_((x+y+2z)), wherein the valuesof x, y, and z are such that at least one of x and y are not zero andthe values are such that the composition is suitable as a glassprecursor material; an alumina silicate binder; an ion flow catalyst andsilica. The process comprises setting the relative values of x, y, and zso that the material is suitable as a glass precursor material, andsetting the proportion of the catalyst in the mass to effectivelyproduce a desired diopside-type composition during sintering of theform, and form the sinterable mass into a form suitable for sintering.

A preferred embodiment is a process for producing a sinterable masscomprising a silicate material having an empirical formula ofCa_(x)Mg_(y)Si_(z)O_((x+y+2z)), wherein the values of x, y, and z aresuch that at least one of x and y are not zero and the silicate materialis suitable as a glass precursor material, an alumina silicate binder,an ion flow catalyst and silica. The process comprises setting therelative values of x, y, and z so that the material is suitable as aglass precursor material, setting the binder proportion in thesinterable mass to enable formation from the mass of a form sinterablewithout substantial structural damage to the form, and setting theproportion of the catalyst in the mass to effectively produce a desireddiopside-type composition during sinterable of the form, and form thesinterable mass into a form suitable for sintering.

In yet another embodiment, the present invention is a method ofproducing a molten glass using a synthetic silicate precursor whichreduces handling problems and enhances the melting process to producethe molten glass. This method involves heating (1) silica with (2) abatch component which provides the major portion of sodium in theresultant molten glass and (3) provides the synthetic silicate, asdescribed hereinabove, having the desired amounts of magnesium andcalcium components. The synthetic silicate is advantageous by virtue ofits similar particle size, distribution and density to the primaryglass-making precursive material (eg. sand) which minimizes potentialsegregation of precursive materials. In addition, unlike limestone or adolomite, the synthetic silicate is not as subject to decrepitationduring heating. Further, the synthetic silicates are not considerablyfriable so as to create dust during batching or other handling duringthe glass-making processes. Accordingly, a preferred method is forming asynthetic silicate pellet in accordance with to one of the inventiveembodiments described hereinabove and combining such with the necessaryamounts of silica and sodium to form a desired molten glass and heatingsuch material to form such molten glass. The sources of silica andsodium can be those typical in the glass industry and the glass batchingprocedure of a type typically used in glass melting processes.

Accordingly, one embodiment of the present invention is a process forproducing a molten glass comprising heating silica with a batchcomponent comprising a source of sodium and a synthetic silicate pelletcomprising a silicate material having an empirical formula ofCa_(x)Mg_(y)Si_(z)O_((x+y+2z)), wherein the values of x, y, and z aresuch that at least one of x and y are not zero and the values are suchthat the composition is suitable as a glass precursor material; analumina silicate binder in an amount effective to impart a compressionstrength sufficient to enable a pellet formed from the composition to behandled at ambient temperature and sintered without substantialstructured damage to the pellet; and silica fines in an amount such thatthe composition is suitable as a glass precursor material.

Another embodiment is a process for producing a molten glass comprisingheating silica with a batch component comprising a source of sodium anda synthetic silicate pellet comprising a silicate material having anempirical formula of Ca_(x)Mg_(y)Si_(z)O_((x+y+2z)), wherein the valuesof x, y, and z are such that at least one of x and y are not zero andthe values are such that the composition is suitable as a glassprecursor material; a catalyst comprising a compound selected from thegroup consisting of lithium, potassium and sodium, the catalyst being inan amount sufficient to effectively control the ion flow in a pelletformed from the composition so that the ion flow effectively formswollastonite-type, diopside-type, or enstatite-type formation duringsintering of the pellet; and silica fines in an amount such that thecomposition is suitable as a glass precursor material.

In yet a more preferred embodiment, the present invention is a processfor producing a molten glass comprising heating silica with a batchcomponent comprising a source of sodium and a synthetic silicate pelletcomprising a silicate material having an empirical formula ofCa_(x)Mg_(y)Si_(z)O_((x+y+2z)), wherein the values of x, y, and z aresuch that at least one of x and y are not zero and the values are suchthat the composition is suitable after sizing as a glass precursormaterial; an alumina silicate binder in an amount effective to impart acompression strength sufficient to enable a pellet formed from thecomposition to be handled at ambient temperature and sintered withoutsubstantial structured damage to the pellet; a catalyst comprising acompound selected from the group consisting of lithium, potassium andsodium, said catalyst being in an amount sufficient to effectivelycontrol the ion flow in a pellet formed from the composition so that theion flow effectively forms the desired wollastonite-type, diopside-type,or enstatite-type formation during sintering of the pellet; and silicafines in an amount such that the composition is suitable as a glassprecursor material. The preferred values for x and y are as statedhereinabove as well as the preferred aluminum silicate binders andcatalysts.

In all the above glass embodiments, an optional amount of silica finesto increase pellet compression strength can be used.

The following examples are illustrative of the present invention but donot limit the scope thereof.

The following terms are described to assist in the understanding of theexperiments, but are not to limit the scope of the invention herein.

Muffle Furnace

Laboratory scale furnace in which temperature can be adjusted in orderto simulate the heat of a rotary kiln. Used for measuring pelletstrength at various temperatures.

Rotary Kiln

A refractory lined cylinder, usually inclined, which rotates and can beheated. In this application it provides for commercial scale reaction ofthe pellets.

Compression Tester

The tester consists of a platform that has a piston positioned above it.The piston is slowly lowered at a fixed velocity until it comes intocontact with the pellet and the pellet breaks apart. The instrumentprovides the pounds of force required to break the pellet.

Attrition Tester

A 3 foot by 6-inch cylinder that rotates end to end. The amount ofbreakage of pellets at hot temperatures can be determined and the testersimulates a rotary kiln.

Glass Sand

A low iron industrial sand of the size used by the glass industry forproviding the source of silicon dioxide (silica, or α-quartz typematerials, for examples).

Ribbon Blender Mix Hydration Test

This test is to determine the degree of hydration of CaO in a ribbonblender mix. This test utilizes a moisture balance, platinum crucible,analytical balance and lab furnace. Before performing this test theamount of CaO and MgO in the original lime sample must be determined(EDTA titration is the easiest way to determine this). Also, thelime/sand ratio used in the ribbon blender mix must be known. A samplefrom the ribbon blender mix is placed the moisture balance to drive offall free moisture and dry weight recorded. The material is placed intothe crucible and heated to 600 C for thirty (30) minutes. The materialis reweighed and placed back into the furnace at 950 C for thirty (30)minutes. The calcined material is reweighed. Using these weights and theinformation about the lime/sand samples, degree of hydration can bedetermined.

Pellets

Mixing and hydrating the dolomitic lime and calcium oxide generates amixture that is rolled into “pellets” and air-dried. Pellets are roughlyone half inch in diameter.

Soak

Dwell times at a certain temperature that a pellet is subjected to inthe furnace or kiln.

Cold Compression Strength Test

Used to determine the strength of dried pellets at ambient temperature.

Hot Compression Strength Test

Used the evaluate the compression strength of pellets over a set thermalprofile. The same tester is used to measure hot compression strength ascold compression strength.

Pellet Attrition Test

This simulates the dynamics of a rotary kiln to test for breakage andproduction of fines of standard pellets. Representative pellets areselected and placed in a lab furnace at a desired temperature for thirty(30) minutes. Remove the pellets and allow to cool enough for handling.Two hundred fifty (250) grams of pellets (larger than 6 mesh) areweighed out and carefully poured into the attrition tube (describedabove). Rotation speed is set at one revolution per minute for thirty(30) minutes. At the end of the rotation cycle, the contents are emptiedfrom the attrition tube onto a 6-mesh sieve and lightly shaken to passthe fines through the sieve. The material that did not filter throughthe sieve is then weighed to determine the amount of fines that werelost through the sieve.

Sintering

Pellets are passed through a muffle furnace or rotary kiln in which atemperature profile is followed to produce a desired product.

Kiln Ring

A powder or fines build-up on the wall of the kiln. This causes changesin the thermal profile of the kiln thus reducing efficiency.

“Secar 71”

Brand of calcium aluminate cement produced by La Farge Cement. This is afast setting cement that is advertised as 30% calcium and 70% aluminate.

Binder Additive for Pelletization:

Example 1 and Example 2 illustrates the increase in pellet strength whena cement is added to aid in binding the components of the invention.After the components of the formulation are mixed together, the materialis then “rolled” into one half inch diameter pellets. Compression andattrition testing is done as described below.

EXAMPLE 1

Control Batch

Seventy-two (72) pounds of pebble lime and seventy-seven (77) pounds ofsand are placed in a ribbon blender. Three (3) pounds of sodiumhydroxide is dissolved in thirty-six (36)

After thirty (30) minutes in the attrition tester the control pelletshad sixty seven and one half (67.5) percent fines while the pellets withsix (6) percent binder had only fifteen and one tenth (15.1) percentfines. This correlates to over a seventy-seven (77) percent increase inusable product when using a binder.

Effect of a Catalyst on Producing Desired Product

EXAMPLE 3

In this example, six hundred (600) grams of pulverized dolomitic lime ismixed with seven hundred thirty one (731) grams of silica in a ribbonblender. Seven hundred thirty (730) grams of water are added and mixedthree (3) minutes. This gives a material that is formed into onehalf-inch cubes and dried overnight at 110° C. A second mixture is madeaccording to this procedure except that one (1) percent, by dry wt.,NaOH is dissolved in the water and this solution is added to thelime/silica mix. The results are shown in TABLE 2.

TABLE 2 Catalyst Effect of NaOH “Control Experiment” 1350° C. - 45minutes 1350° C. - 45 minutes No NaOH With NaOH Substance % CrystallinePhase % Crystalline Phase Diopside 2-4 51-68 α-Quartz 45-60 7-10Cristobalite 2-4 2-4 Akermanite 2-4 10-15 Merwinite 2-4 2-4 Lime 2-4None detected <0.5 Periclase 10-15 2-4 Υ-Ca₂SiO₄ 7-10 None detected <1.0Larnite, Ca₂SiO₄ 2-4 None detected <1.0 Cyclowollastonite, 2-4 Nonedetected CaSiO₃ <1.0 Monticellite, None detected 4-7 CaMgSiO₄ <0.5Amorphous Phase <5 <5 (glass-SiO₂, Ca/Mg silicate)

What is claimed is:
 1. A composition comprising a silicate materialhaving an empirical formula of Ca_(x)Mg_(y)Si_(z)O_((x+y+2z)), whereinthe values of x, y, and z are such that at least one of x and y are notzero and said values are such that said composition is suitable as aglass precursor material; and an alumina silicate binder in an amounteffective to impart a compression strength sufficient to enable a pelletformed from said composition to be handled at ambient temperature andsintered without substantial structural damage to said pellet.
 2. Acomposition suitable for forming a sinterable pellet having an ion flowduring a controlled melt, said composition comprising a silicatematerial having an empirical formula of Ca_(x)Mg_(y)Si_(z)O_((x+y+2z)),wherein the values of x, y, and z are such that at least one of x and yare not zero and said values are such that said composition is suitableas a glass precursor material; and a catalyst comprising a compoundselected from the group consisting of lithium, potassium and sodium,wherein said sodium content is about 5 weight percent or less based onsaid composition, said catalyst being in an amount sufficient toeffectively control said ion flow in a pellet formed from saidcomposition so that said ion flow effectively forms wollastonite,diopside, or enstatite formation during sintering of said pellet.
 3. Thecomposition of claim 2 comprising a silicate material having anempirical formula of Ca_(x)Mg_(y)Si_(z)O_((x+y+2z)), wherein the valuesof x, y, and z are such that at least one of x and y are not zero andsaid values are such that said composition is suitable as a glassprecursor material; an alumina silicate binder in an amount effective toimpart a compression strength sufficient to enable a pellet formed fromsaid composition to be handled at ambient temperature and sinteredwithout substantial structured damage to said pellet; a catalystcomprising a compound of an element of an element selected from thegroup consisting of lithium, potassium and sodium, said catalyst beingin an amount sufficient to effectively control the ion flow in a pelletformed from said composition so that said ion flow effectively formswollastonite, diopside, or enstatite formation during sintering of saidpellet; and silica fines in an amount such that said composition issuitable as a glass precursor material.
 4. The composition of claim 1having a ratio of x to y of about one-half to about ten.
 5. Thecomposition of claim 4 wherein said ratio is about one to about two. 6.The composition of claim 1 comprising about 0.1 to about ten weightpercent of the binder.
 7. The composition of claim 2 wherein thecatalyst comprises one or more compounds selected from the groupconsisting of lithium carbonate, lithium hydroxide, sodium carbonate andsodium hydroxide.
 8. The composition of claim 2 comprising about 0.01 toabout twenty weight percent of the catalyst.
 9. The composition of claim8 wherein the catalyst is sodium hydroxide in an amount about 0.05 toabout 5 weight percent.
 10. The composition of claim 3 wherein saidsilica fines are sands having a measurement of up to about 30 mesh size.11. The composition of claim 2 wherein the catalyst is in an amount toeffectively form diopside formation.
 12. The composition of claim 3wherein the catalyst is in an amount to effectively form diopsideformation.